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For
many individuals convicted of minor crimes, finding jobs and decent housing is
so challenging that many are at extreme risk of homelessness or reentering the
criminal justice system. Recently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded $8.7 million to
address homelessness and reduce recidivism among this justice-involved
population through the Pay for Success model.
HUD's
Pay
for Success Permanent Supportive Housing Demonstration tests cost-effective
ways to help persons cycling between the criminal justice and homeless service
systems.
Funded
by DOJ and implemented through a HUD/DOJ partnership, this demonstration
advances a model that offers a new source of financing to expand permanent
supportive housing for the reentry population. This is part of a broader
Administration effort to reduce barriers facing justice-involved individuals
who are trying to put their lives back on track, including barriers to housing.
"Too
often, as people leave the criminal justice system, they don't have the support
network to help them get a second chance and they fall into homelessness,"
says HUD Secretary Julian Castro.
"These
grantees have developed successful models that give returning citizens the
opportunity to find a job and place to call home while reducing the costs
associated with recidivism and homelessness."
"Every
person re-entering society from the justice system deserves a fair shot at a
life of renewed purpose and meaning," says Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
"The Justice Department's partnership with HUD will expand services to
help individuals gain access to housing and jobs, and to give those who have
served their time a chance to fully rejoin society. Going forward, we intend to
continue to promote and develop programs that help our returning citizens stay
safe, supported, and secure."
Secretary
Castro made the announcement at an interagency event led by DOJ at the Center
for American Progress.
Research
consistently demonstrates a correlation between homelessness and incarceration.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) estimates that one in five
people living prison becomes homeless upon reentry into the community, with an
increase of 30-50 percent in major urban areas. Tracking the cycle of
homelessness and incarceration in the reverse, the Council of States
Governments and NAEH report that over 10 percent of people recidivating from
jail and prison are homeless in the months before their incarceration. This
rate jumps to 20 percent among individuals with a mental illness.
Pay
for Success (PFS) strategies are public-private arrangements that help
government test or expand innovative programs while paying only for those
activities that achieve agreed-upon target outcomes. These grants will support
PFS projects that implement a Housing First model for the reentry population
who experience homelessness and are frequent users of homelessness, health care
and other crisis services.
Established
by President Obama, the Federal Interagency Reentry Council includes 20 federal
agencies,that work to:
·
make communities safer by reducing recidivism and victimization;
·
assist those who return from prison and jail in becoming
productive citizens; and
·
save taxpayer dollars by lowering the direct and collateral
costs of incarceration.
The
Reentry Council, recently codified by Presidential Memorandum, is removing
federal barriers to successful reentry, so that motivated individuals - who
have served their time and paid their dues - are able to compete for a job,
attain stable housing, support their children and their families, and
contribute to their communities. Reentry Council agencies are taking concrete
steps to reduce recidivism and high correctional costs while improving public
health, child welfare, employment, education, housing and other key
reintegration outcomes.
In
2010, President Obama and 19 federal agencies and offices that form the U.S.
Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) launched the nation's first
comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness. Opening Doors: FederalStrategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness serves as a roadmap for how the
federal government will work with state and local communities to confront the
root causes of homelessness, including individuals who are in and out of a
variety of crisis services such as jails and prisons. Permanent supportive
housing lowers public costs by stopping the revolving door between jail and
prison and crisis services like those provided in emergency rooms and homeless
assistance programs.
For
more information, visit www.hud.gov.
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